


Stealing Food and other Crimes

by Rabentochter



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Asgard (Marvel), Attraction, Avengers in Asgard, Canon Divergence - Post-Avengers (2012), Cultural Differences, Denial of Feelings, Desire, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Engagement, Fluffy Ending, Friends With Benefits, Happy Ending, Humor, Idiots in Love, Loki (Marvel) Does What He Wants, M/M, Oblivious Tony Stark, Past Relationship(s), Pining, Pining Tony Stark, Sharing a Bed, Tony Stark Cuddles, Tony Stark Does What He Wants, Tony Stark Feels, Warning: Loki (Marvel)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-13
Updated: 2020-05-13
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:34:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24164443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rabentochter/pseuds/Rabentochter
Summary: When Thor invited the Avengers to Asgard to celebrate the defeat of the Skrulls, Tony didn't expect to end up getting engaged to Loki on the first day.
Relationships: Loki/Tony Stark
Comments: 36
Kudos: 421





	Stealing Food and other Crimes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thebifrostgiant](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thebifrostgiant/gifts).



> 🎉 🙌 Happy Birthday Frosti 🙌 🎉
> 
> Also big thank you to **NamelesslyNightlock** who helped out with betaing, title, and summary ❤️

Tony didn’t tend to think of himself as a man who was overly paranoid. In fact, he had some kind of trust in people. Not that most deserved it but hey – there always was one special cornflake among a lot of whatever. You just had to take a look at Pepper. Nobody would have thought she’d come so far the way that she had. Admittedly, not even Tony himself. He’d hired her because Obadiah had said something about her and he’d seen the way she fought not to get ticked off by him. Impressive and beyond. But, that aside. It was only an anecdote to start everything off, nothing to pay overly much attention to.

The core-essence was that he had some faith in people. And didn’t think all of them had ulterior motives. That was Natasha’s job, not his.

 _But_. That was the important part. Always. If someone said or thought ‘but’, either bullshit followed or something you really had to pay attention to because otherwise you were going to leave the meeting or date with a few less balls than you started with.

“Why the hell is there only one bed.” He didn’t even bother to phrase it as a question.

“Because you and my brother are engaged, friend Stark.” Thor didn’t bother either to hide the snigger in his voice. “There are certain _assumptions_ , of course.”

“Right.” Tony tried not too hard to roll his eyes. Because then he would see even more gold. Asgard’s palace seemed to have grown from gold, more gold, and if you’re lucky, you might even catch a hint of aurum somewhere. “And nobody thinks that we might _not_ be engaged and it’s all a cultural misunderstanding?” 

It wasn’t that he overly minded the thought of being engaged to Loki, it was more that he didn’t know why the hell it had happened. 

“Probably.” Thor laughed even more.

Tony had the incomprehensible urge to shoot Thor in the groin. For no reason at all. Really. 

“Nobody thinks that Loki would fall in love with a mortal. Or fall in love at all long enough to marry. He’s got the reputation of being a –“ Thor created an artistic break, let Tony stare at him darkly. “Free spirit.”

“So what, nobody ever good enough to settle down for him?” Tony had no right to feel hurt by that– and he wasn't, really. Only... almost. He was good at only almost feeling something. He’d done a great job of convincing himself that what he felt for Loki was only friendship, after all. Nothing to see there that resembled pining and longing like a fool did. It wasn’t as if they both _hadn’t_ spent a lot of time together or anything recently. No. 

Thor nodded. Laughed. “But alas my friend. He also is a member of the royal family and therefore, you _taking his food_ from _his plate_ is seen as a –“

“Sign of how happy and in love we are?”

“Precisely.” Thor couldn’t stop laughing and Tony wanted to throw something at him. Shooting wasn’t enough anymore at this point. Loki and him were _not_ happy and especially not, _in love_. Well, maybe Tony was, but he’d only admit that drunk and under pressure. Loki wasn’t. Loki was happy with them being _friends_ and fucking off as soon as the battle and his job was done. Leaving Tony with no explanation, just an empty bed.

“I cannot begrudge my brother for not warning you. It is a hilarious jest, I must admit.”

“Thank you,” Tony replied dryly. “I’ve always wanted to be caught up in one of your brother’s jests.”

“Aah, you two played great pranks on us. I still remember the one time you dyed my hair green.”

“It was supposed to be blue. We only forgot that yellow and blue doesn’t mix so well.” 

“I don’t believe my brother forgot about that,” Thor added thoughtfully. “It doesn’t sound like him to forget something essential in his mischief.” 

“Lovely.” Tony sighed. “Tell your brother he can prepare to sleep on the couch. I take the bed.” Because like _hell_ would Tony have Loki sleep next to him; the temptation would be too much.

“Are you certain you wish to exclude him from his own bed?”

“Yes.” Tony grinned despite not feeling it, and threw himself on the bed. He bounced off a little bit before it stopped. The bed smelt clean, the sheets were to his surprise, not green but instead, grey. And it felt nice too. Not too hard to sleep on. Maybe he had to give Loki some points because not _everyone_ had a good mattress. Then again, he was a prince, so maybe he didn’t deserve too many points after all. “If he loves me, he’s going to earn his place.”

“My friend.” Thor had tears in his eyes. One day Tony would laugh over Thor’s misery and be not sympathetic either. Probably when Jane broke up with him. “Don’t say afterwards I did not warn you.”

“You always say that.” Tony laughed. He closed his eyes. For a moment, he ignored the quiet shuffling about from Thor as he dumped Tony’s bag somewhere in the room. Loki’s room was huge. And not a bad switch with the guest room Tony had been shown earlier this morning after they’d arrived on Asgard.

Thor wanted to show his friends his family and his home, after they’d helped to defeat the Skrulls. Apparently, the reasoning was strong enough to have Odin convinced, although Tony suspected that had to do with the fact that Bruce saved Thor’s life. No one wanted their son struck down mid-battle with an _unhonourable_ attack in his back and yadi-yadah. Tony didn’t mind some long overdue vacation even if that would mean that he had to face Loki. Got to pretend that he was doing fine, didn’t miss the bastard a single bit. 

Also, he’d have to lie if he said he’d never been curious about Asgard. A floating planet. Flat. With a fucking bridge that created a wormhole and had a stable throat and made his science heart go _nyoooom_ like his recently acquired Audi did when he hit the gas pedal. Lots of attraction there, too.

But Thor had hinted that Loki, _fucking Loki_ , who’d _helped out_ with the Skrulls, had said his piece as well. To make sure that the Avengers got to see Asgard. The _planet_ Asgard, since Asgard itself was according to Frigga – lovely lady by the way – only the capital of the planet, where also the palace stood. There’d been some confusion at dinner but when was there ever not? The point being was that Loki had helped them to get to Asgard. Which didn’t make a lot of sense to Tony. 

Neither did the fact that Loki had made sure _Tony sat next to him_. On the other hand, that wasn’t overly surprising because out of the whole team, it had been Tony who’d got along with Loki the best. Not only in the lab, that was. They understood talking even in horizontal languages. Hell, if that hadn’t been one of the best decisions Tony had ever made. And fuck, if it also hadn’t been one of the worst ones too.

And _now_ , Tony was seen as an _engaged_ man. To Loki. With Loki. Loki was engaged to him. And all that only because Loki didn’t deign Tony worthy of giving him a bite of his weird orange-red coloured meat. It had been delicious though. If Tony bothered with trying, then he could still taste the honey-like meat on his tongue, the warmth of it too that made him salivate. He’d eaten a lot in his days but this? Had been _delicious_. Worth an engagement. Maybe. But Loki had _let him steal it_. Knowing what it would mean.

He sat up abruptly. His paranoia and bullshit sensors were hardcore going off. Perhaps also a tiny flicker of hope that he wasn’t the only one here who had some pining going on and didn’t know what to do; or thought sex was the only available option on the table.

“Thor?” 

“Yes?” His friend seemed to have calmed down. The sight of Tony didn’t set him off anymore. Progress, and all that shtick. 

“Do you think Loki did that on purpose?” He didn’t need to clarify what ‘that’ was. 

Thor hesitated. Unsure. “I don’t think he had it planned from the beginning,” he started slowly. “But I think, when the opportunity presented itself, he saw no reason to stop it either.” 

“Lovely.” Tony rubbed over his chin. “What would he have to gain from it?” 

“Mischief.” Thor shrugged. “Sometimes that’s all my brother is after.” 

“Uh huh. I plead whatever, I call bullshit. He’s behind something else.” _Or someone._

“Do you suspect my brother of a new ploy?” 

“You’re not?” Tony raised a brow. “It’s Loki we’re talking about here. He even got something out of helping us with the Skrulls.” _Like sex with him._ Definitely a bonus. 

Wait – Tony almost groaned. If Loki had let him steal from his plate only to get sex, then – yeah, he had no idea what then, but he felt a bit flattered. Probably. If he was so good that Loki _had_ to have him again in his bed?

He wasn’t averse to going back to being _friends with benefits_. Not when he was awake to convince himself of that lie. But - perhaps if that was all that he could have from Loki? Maybe he would just take the opportunity that presented itself with shining eyes and grabby hands; would not let go of him until he was forced to do so. _Sex Holidays on Asgard,_ that had a nice ring to it. 

Pepper would kill him when he got back to New York though.

Tony only stopped when he saw _something_ dawning in Thor’s eyes. Tony couldn’t put his finger on the emotion or whatever it was, and how it was called, but he _knew it._ He almost wanted to open bets about if Thor had finally proof about Loki and his affair with one of few people that knew. Right now though, nobody would bet with him because everyone was busy with laughing about him and his fate. Here comes Tony Stark, suave as always, steals from one Trickster, and gets tricked into being engaged. 

Fucking could have bet on it. 

Natasha probably had. That would explain her dirty grin. 

Fucking hell. 

~

“Stark, you’re in my bed.” 

“No kidding.” Tony stretched out on the luxurious bed. His head was hanging off the edge, blood was rushing in it. Towards it. Loki looked _ridiculous_ upside down. A lie. He didn’t. He never did, somehow. Even in chains and with a muzzle Loki had some style. Which was unfair and also, totally a thing he’d copied from Tony. Maybe Natasha. She somehow always looked good. Whatever she was wearing was probably scared of what she was going to do to it when it stopped doing its job. Life could be extremely hard, yep. 

“You’ve got a nice bed there.” Dramatic pause. _“Fiancé.”_

Loki chuckled, stepped closer. It was unfair that he appeared to turn even taller when he did so. And Tony did _not_ shiver when he saw Loki towering above him, a hand appearing to close to his face. It hung there, tantalising. He swallowed quietly. 

“Did you have that planned or was that just an opportunity you couldn’t resist to lure me into your bed?” Tony asked and he grinned. Didn’t let his eyes stray to the hand. Okay, it was _there_ , right _there_ and he wanted – 

“A Trickster never reveals his tricks,” Loki replied smoothly. “You will have to make do with what you thought of.” 

“Is that any way to treat the man you love?” 

“Love?” Loki bent down at the hip. “Stark, I want you for your money and connections. Not because of something as asinine as _love_.” He rolled his eyes just a bit.

“My money, huh?” Tony raised his arms until his fingers found Loki’s thighs that were clad in - Leather. Of course. What else. He rubbed his thumbs over the pants, felt the firm muscles beneath it. “And what do _I_ get out of that? If I’m generous enough to let you use me for connections and my money?” 

Loki dared to run his hand through Tony’s hair. “I don’t kill you.” 

“Unsatisfactory.” Tony snorted. “Give me something better to work with, Loki.” 

“Hm.” The Trickster purred almost. “Is your life not good enough?” 

“No. I had a life before you and I can have one after you as well.” 

“My presence.” 

Tony rolled his eyes. “That’s what the rest of the Avengers pay me with. Give me something better otherwise I’ll get up right now and propose to Thor.” He pinched Loki lovingly before he rose. Not high enough that he crashed his head into Loki’s but close enough that a) his abs felt the strain and okay, that wasn’t a good thing, he needed to exercise more again. B) Loki’s eyes widened for a fraction. _Shock, probably_. Not everyday that Tony sat up without a warning beforehand and breathed into your face. 

“No, Loki. I want something _better_. Something that makes it worth my time.” 

The fingers stilled in his hair. 

“I can provide you with more of the meat you absolutely had to steal from my plate.” 

Tony blinked. Stared. Saw into the face of utter and complete seriousness, not even a hint of mischief or anything funny in these green eyes. 

“Maybe. It’s getting warmer.” He fought with the urge to smile.

“Warm.” Loki drew the sound out. The _a_ gave his mouth a lovely shape. “What else can I offer to you, what you don’t already possess?” 

“Quite a lot of things.” Tony patted the firm thighs. “You got a smart head on your shoulders, Rock of Ages. Use it thoroughly.” 

_There_ was the glimmer of mischief in Loki’s eyes that Tony had been waiting for. “I can also use _you_ thoroughly.” 

“Now _that,_ ” Tony said, “is an offer I can get behind. Imagine that, an engagement without having sex!” 

He wasn’t sure how long he kept up his serious facade. It was a bit of pride to see if he or Loki would crack first. Like a hardboiled egg. No cracking until a hard blow came along the way and – 

Loki started to laugh. His whole face turned impossibly younger and he looked like he _was_ having fun too. Tony liked it. Liked him. He smiled, not wanting to interrupt the sound with his own laughter. He felt content with the smile, even when the position slowly started to become noticeable. His abs were going to thank him tomorrow. 

“As your _fiancé_ ,” Loki purred as soon as he’d gained composure again, “I would never not miss out on having you in my bed.” 

“Awwww.” He frowned. “Wait, that was a compliment right? I hate double negatives, they never make any sense.”

“Which is why I prefer to use them around you.” Something in Tony felt touched. “But for now, I think I have a duty to fulfill, don’t I?” 

“And that would be?” Tony’s eyes wandered for a short moment to Loki’s lips. 

“Don’t be obtuse, Anthony.” Loki tsk’ed at him. “While you’re making yourself comfortable here, I’ll go and shower.” He stepped back. 

Tony was disappointed there hadn’t been a kiss. Not, that Loki was obligated to kiss him, of course. But - it would have been … nice. Yes. _Nice_. He sighed quietly, feeling lost all of sudden. Here he was, having just declared he wouldn’t let Loki back into his life _like that_ and now – it seemed as if he would let him anyway. But Einstein, if Tony didn’t miss Loki. And had multiple soft spots for him that Loki pushed alone by _existing,_ as it seemed.

“And as _my fiancé_ ,” Loki added over his shoulder, “you should make sure to follow me and scratch my back.” 

“Only scratch?” Tony asked before he left the bed. 

“You’ll figure it out for yourself if there’s more to do, I’m sure.” 

Tony chuckled, followed Loki to where he presumed was the bathroom. Only a few steps later he realised what he was doing. He was following Loki to have sex. _Sex_. Again. Without further discussions, or talking about if one of them felt something for the other. Loki had him tricked into his rooms and – okay, so. Tony knew that he was good in bed. He knew that Loki had had fun with him and the other way around too back in the Tower. 

But - didn’t this here speak of other volumes? _He fucking hoped so_. He didn’t - okay, now that they were apparently going for it, he didn’t want ‘only sex’, and contend with that. He wanted Loki for himself, whole and fully.

Or was this simply how Loki operated, and ‘seduced’? Had Tony brought into his rooms, claimed him before any other Asgardian - no wait, Frigga had said that was Áss - could flirt with him. Like that blonde friend of Thor’s who’d been eyeing him during the feast. And before that as well, not even subtly. Tony wondered if Fandral would even know what subtlety was if it bit him in his ass. Not forgetting to mention that – 

_Oh._ Yeah, there’d been some signs that Loki had been - to say, territorial. Jealous. Maybe just a little bit. Tony blinked, suddenly feeling lost in the grand bathroom. There was a gigantic tub that promised warm water and bubbles. No shower in sight. A lie, then. Not that Tony was complaining, a bath always promised more fun than a shower. His opinion at least, and everybody knew that his opinion was the one that mattered the most. He smirked faintly at Loki’s back, knowing what he had to do next.

And that would not be to undress.

“Loki,” he asked, his voice sombre. Perhaps a bit of a smirk in it. “There is no shower.” 

“Oh my.” Loki shrugged free of his tunic. “We’ll have to do with the bath then.” 

“Ah.” Tony tilted his head. “But why would I reward my fiancé when he lies to me?” He sighed, a little dramatically. “No, my sugarplums. I think I shall go and let you clean up in peace, so you can think about what you have done and how to get back in my good graces.” 

Loki seemed like he forgot how to operate. As if someone had taken an important piece of code from him and stuffed it somewhere else where it didn’t matter. His eyes flitted from Tony to the door to the tub and back. To say it was amusing to see, would be an understatement. 

Tony picked at his fingernails. “I already told Thor but you’ll have to work hard to earn a place in my bed.” 

“Your. Bed.” 

“Yeah, that’s what I said, didn’t I?” Tony beamed at the Trickster, feeling elated all of a sudden. “Enjoy your bath.” With that, he left without looking back once. 

He partially counted on Loki storming after him, pulling him into his arms and having him pressed up against a wall. Kiss him until Tony’s knees would turn weak and uh, _ravish_ _him_ , to say, right there on the spot. But he knew that Loki would not do that. He’d just _turned him down._

Oh, fucking hell. Tony forced his legs to continue working, not to stop walking. That would be a mistake and Loki would have him pay for that. He’d just turned Loki down, had he already mentioned that? When he’d tried extremely blatantly to seduce him and have him join in his bath. _After_ making sure that – 

There was a reasonable excuse in the first place why Tony would sleep in his rooms, and not in the guestroom that was a bit farther away from Loki’s than he had assumed. Okay, maybe he was a bit stupid to turn Loki down instead of being grateful for the trouble Loki went through. Back in New York, while Loki had been _his guest,_ there had always been some trouble with having privacy and not someone dropping in. 

Bruce almost walked in on them once. 

Tony grinned at the memory of that. But the point was that it had been _difficult._ There’d been some sneaking around, some teleporting within the Tower too, and it had added to the fun but - sometimes, it would have been nice to just – 

Yeah. 

_Oops?_

~

He chose to spend the time wisely while Loki was pouting in his bathtub. Ergo, he pulled his phone out and had JARVIS scan the room. Good thing that he had his buddy with him, even when his operations were all reduced to offline functions. But, not to imagine how it would be if this part of JARVIS wasn’t with him. Better to have only 30% of him than no JARVIS at all. 

“What does Asgard have?” 

“ _What does it not have, Sir?”_

“Me,” Tony replied automatically. “I’m unique, don’t you know that.” 

“ _Of course, Sir. No doubts about it.”_

“Cut the sass, Jay. Rather show me what you got.” 

Jarvis did _not_ cut the sass. But he showed Tony all the scans he’d run since they’d taken off of Earth. Bifrost messings and all that, everything was cool and had Tony stare in awe and scientific horniness for the numbers and readings. 

~

“You are still in my bed.” 

“Yours?” Tony didn’t bother turning his head. He smelled the vanilla scent over where he was. The blanket was tangled around his legs, keeping him warm because at some point Tony had decided that wearing his trousers was too warm so he sat there in his boxers. Which obviously became cold at some point and Loki _really_ liked to take long baths, huh? 

“Are you finally clean?” He asked instead, when no answer came forth. He looked up for a second, regretted it instantly. Loki wore nothing but a towel around his hips. Just some. Rough material. Slung. Around his hips. A knot at the side that held the thing up somehow and –

Tony cleared his throat, tried not to be tempted to stare at him for all too long. But Loki looked _good_ , and Tony remembered all too well how it felt to have all these delicious muscles pressed against him, back or front, didn’t matter. The small, happy sighs when Tony admired them for too long and let Loki know how much he liked them. There were - good memories there, yes. 

And it was unfair of Loki to show them off like that. Just right in front of his salad. 

“I am. Unlike you.” 

“I showered this morning, I’m clean.” 

“If you insist.” Loki wrinkled his nose. 

Tony forgot for a moment how dangerous Loki could be and cooed. It just looked _adorable_. The all-mighty and powerful prince, here and out to seduce Tony, and _wrinkled his nose_. 

“I have half a mind to kill you,” Loki informed him next. 

“But only half.” Tony flopped back on the bed, sprawled out all over it. “You still haven’t earned a place in your bed.” 

“Ah,” Loki said. And that was what made Tony worry. Loki saying _Ah_ never led to anything good. The opposite was much more likely. “You admit then it is my bed?” 

“No.” 

“No?” 

And Tony swallowed when he saw Loki climb on the bed, crawl up until they were face to face. Yes. This was the moment he better took a deep breath and screamed for Natasha to get him out of this situation. Yeah? 

Okay, no, because uh - the view was rather nice from here. Lovely, and all that. His hand was already moving of its own accord, settling on that nice upper arm right there. 

Loki hummed quietly, his eyes locked with Tony’s. The worst thing was that Tony felt as if he could get lost in the stare. Perhaps he did. Because Loki’s mouth was moving and he didn’t catch _everything_ , maybe every fifth syllable or something. His mind was on a single track, and the car he was driving (metaphorically, that being said) was about to fall off the cliff. 

He was _not_ a damsel in distress, or petrified by too much Loki. No. He only - admired. Took his time while doing so as well. Not everyday as fine a body as Loki landed in his bed. There were some around and on the team, yes, but that wasn’t the same. There went the car and took a sharp turn to the right side, not that Tony had expected it, he really freaking hadn’t. 

But Loki was kissing him. 

And Tony closed his eyes, quite content all of a sudden. His eyelids fluttered shut, his lips opened to Loki’s tongue. He fought off a smile that threatened to kill the kiss, the fucking _kiss and –_

“You’re not angry?” He asked quietly. Quiet, because he only just got the control over his car again and because kissing Loki always made him feel a bit dizzy. 

“Angry?” Loki sounded amused. Asshole. 

“That’s a no then?” Tony was hopeful, and sat up, pressing his lips gently against Loki’s. But – nothing. Niente. 

“That’s a yes,” he said to break the hopefully-not-awkward-silence. Not, that it was a necessarily helpful thing because now Loki looked at him as if he’d lost his mind. Nothing unusual, Loki tended to do that often. Especially when Tony went on his mad ramble about science, or thought it would be a great idea to take his toaster apart, give it wheels so it could roll through the kitchen and scare Cap, as well as give it the ability to chop onions. The latter might have actually been an idea by Bruce because he was sick of wearing goggles when he cut them open. 

Yeah. Wasn’t he just an amazing fountain of ideas? Never ending, never reaching the bottom of it either? Endlessly deep like the Mariana Trench, and –

Loki was still silent.

“If you don’t say anything in the next few seconds,” Tony prodded Loki’s chest, “then I will crawl out under you, find your mum and tell her that you died while we had sex.” 

“Beg your pardon?” 

“Yeah, you heard me right.” Tony grinned wolfishly at his - _fiancé_. “I’m going to tell her you couldn’t fulfill your duties.” 

“Why,” Loki stressed the _y_ wonderfully, “would I care that you told my mother about my demise when it’s not true?” 

Tony shrugged. “To see how she would react. Do you think Odin would kill me if I went to her naked?”

“No.” Loki smiled at him pleasantly. “But I would if you dared to show yourself to my mother in the suit you’ve been born in.”

“I wasn’t born in a su- Oh, you _fucker.”_

He only got a small chuckle in response. Tony sighed and relaxed back into the bed. Occasionally, he needed to stop worrying, ruining things with his head or - you know, stop giving people a hard time. Not that he thought he could give Loki a hard time, only make him hard. But the difference between those things was vast, and he had no ladder there he could use to climb it. Yeah, that probably only made sense in his head. 

Loki flopped - there was no other way to describe it - down on him. He was a _heavy bastard_ , even when he smelled good. Tony wheezed a bit, shoving Loki, trying to get the weight off of his reactor. Thankfully, Loki lifted and turned to the side, only his legs were still slung over Tony. 

Okay. 

“Comfortable?” he asked when Loki burrowed his nose against his throat. He only received another hum. 

Tony turned his head just an inch to the side to have a better look at the Trickster. It didn’t do a lot, to be honest. There was a lot of black hair and Tony tried not to laugh when Loki’s breath tickled him. 

“It shall do for the moment.” 

“Shall do.” Tony punched Loki’s shoulder with his knuckles. Surprisingly, it didn’t hurt. “You trick me into being engaged with you, lure me into your bed, and then tell me I _shall do_. I’m hurt, Loki. Thy words have wounded me deeper than any sword could ever hope to reach, and all that.” 

“You talk too much for a pillow.” Loki resurfaced with a smirk on his lips. “I’m sure you could do _better_ if you hadn’t rejected my advances so crudely as you did.” 

“You lied to me,” Tony pointed out. “And you tricked me. I think I have earned the right to talk as much as I want since I only _shall do_ as a pillow in a bed that you haven’t earned yet, my darling fiancé.” 

“Ah.” Again, there was this _ah_ sound. Loki sat up on his elbows until he could properly look into Tony’s face. There was a lot of skin to be seen, just all deliciously laid out in front of Tony, the paleness that begged to be touched and kissed. If he had any less self-restraint, then Tony would probably whine at this point and _touch_ to his heart’s content. But he - sadly - had some control over himself. 

“What?” 

“I think,” Loki started slowly, “that you are more angry about being seen as my fiancé than you need to be.” 

“ _What_.” 

“Anthony.” Loki shot him a look that told him he was an oblivious idiot. “In case you have forgotten, I am a prince. That means _whoever_ is fortunate-” 

“Don’t you have a high opinion of yourself.” 

“-enough to capture my heart, will be judged by Odin and my mother, as well as the populace of the entire realm. If it happens now though and it looks like it was a trick, people _will_ laugh at you but also at the same time, feel sympathy for you.” 

“Wait, I take the high opinion about yourself back. Sounds like you think everyone believes you are only capable of tricking someone into loving you.”

Loki raised a single brow. It said _duh_ so clearly that Tony probably would have blushed were he capable of feeling shame or embarrassment. Then he simply continued as if he hadn’t heard Tony’s interjection. “Everyone will be forced and is going to _want_ to treat you like you are a member of the royal family. Even Odin will be forced to acknowledge you, and I can assure you, he wouldn’t have done so otherwise. The only one he considered as important was the Beast-” 

“Call him Bruce.” Tony listened with rapt attention. 

“Bruce.” Loki rolled his eyes. “Do you truly not see, Anthony?” 

“I see a lot of skin,” he admitted. 

“If you tell me now that is all that you heard-” 

“No, no.” Tony waved him off. “I think what you’re trying to say is, and don’t correct me if I’m wrong because I like what I’m hearing, is that you turned me into your fiancé, put me into a spot where most people will have to love me because poor Mortal, tricked into spending time with Loki. Everyone assumes it’s a joke but it’s actually not, and all of sudden, the public is doing things in our favour, so that Odin will, what? Not toss me off the Bifrost?” 

“I was rather thinking that he ought to consider now whether to give you a golden apple so you won’t have to leave me in a few years,” Loki said as nonchalant as he could. 

“Oh,” Tony replied. “Uhm.” 

Loki’s other eyebrow wandered up as well. “It cannot have come as a surprise that I want you at my side, Anthony.” 

“It does, though?” Tony arched his own eyebrow. “Weren’t you the one who left me in New York without further notice?” 

“Yes, because I was _ordered_ to go back to Asgard. Did I not make sure that you got to Asgard within _two weeks_?” 

“Well, putting it like that -” 

“And did I not spend almost every free minute with you, and made certain that Asgard knows we belong together from day one?” 

“Well-” 

“And gave us the privacy that we were lacking from time to time in your home?” 

“Why don’t you just shut the fuck up and kiss me, huh?” Tony said and chuckled. Not out of embarrassment, no. “Then we can skip to happy ‘we are engaged now’ sex, followed by some mind-blowing orgasms and afterwards we pretend I knew this from the beginning, right?” 

“I thought you did.” Loki stared at him completely baffled. “I thought it was obvious for a genius as you proclaim yourself to be.” 

“No, it wasn’t.” 

“Yes.” Loki dropped his head and muttered something into Tony’s shoulder. 

“Did you just call me an idiot?” 

“You deserve it.” Loki raised his head again. 

“I probably do.” Tony shrugged. “Now, I think we were talking about you kissing me? After all, I’m engaged.” 

“I think that would be beneficial.” With that, Loki did as ordered. 

Tony was utterly grateful for it. It gave him a wonderful excuse not to think about what Loki had confessed to him and what this meant. Well, he knew _what_ , but it hadn’t got fully into his brain yet. 

But - and this much was for certain - it sounded like this _relationship_ here was not a one-sided feeling thing. Thank Einstein for small mercies, because Tony rather liked not being the only one who’d done the unwise thing of falling in love with the person he rather shouldn’t have but hey – 

When had he ever done something clever?


End file.
